Big West rewards pitcher for shutout

Wednesday

Feb 27, 2013 at 12:01 AM

STOCKTON - Cory Popham had a rough introduction to Division I baseball on opening night, but he bounced back with a dominant start Friday that earned him Big West Conference pitcher of the week honors.

Jagdip Dhillon

STOCKTON - Cory Popham had a rough introduction to Division I baseball on opening night, but he bounced back with a dominant start Friday that earned him Big West Conference pitcher of the week honors.

Popham threw a five-hit shutout in a 3-0 victory over UNLV after lasting 42/3 innings in a loss to San Jose State a week earlier.

"I really wanted to come out and pitch the way I was capable of throwing," said Popham, who transferred to Pacific from Glendale College. "I didn't think my first start was representative of what I'm capable of. I felt I let the team down and it was nice to come out and contribute. Most of all, I want this to be a consistent thing."

Popham said the biggest lesson learned from San Jose State was how aggressive he has to be at this level. The right-handed junior has a five-pitch repertoire that earned coach Ed Sprague's trust out of camp, and he will start again Saturday against Gonzaga in the Coca Cola Surprise Classic in Arizona.

Pacific (3-4) will open the tournament Friday against Arizona State at about 3 p.m. following a spring training game between the Kansas City Royals and Cincinnati Reds at Surprise Stadium.

Sophomore Cameron Franke and juniors Dai Wilson and Oliver Simkovic earned NCAA qualifying marks at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation swimming championships last week. Franke earned a 'B' qualifying time in the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 55.32 seconds. Simkovic did the same in the 200 backstroke in 1:46.12, and Wilson qualified in the 200 butterfly in 1:47.20.

All three will learn if they will be eligible to swim in the NCAA Championships on March 28-30 in Indianapolis. Eligibility depends on qualifying times from around the country.

The women's water polo team went 1-3 at the UC Irvine Invitational last weekend and will participate in the Aggie Shootout on Sunday in Davis against Concordia and Santa Clara, hoping to improve their 8-6 record. ... The men's tennis team will look to shake off consecutive losses when it travels to Sacramento State on Friday, and the women's team will visit Santa Clara on Friday and host Cal Poly at the Hal Nelson Tennis Courts at 11 a.m. Sunday.